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"On the surface, money and education seem to create a virtuous circle, with rich countries and individuals buying good educations for their children who, in turn, benefit economically," it said.

"A closer look, though, indicates that both higher income levels and better cognitive test scores are the result of educational strategies adopted, sometimes years earlier, independently of the income levels existing at the time."

There was no substitute for having a good teacher, the report added.

"Having a better one is statistically linked not only to higher income later in life but to a range of social results including lower chances of teenage pregnancy and a greater tendency to save for their own retirement," it said.

But the biggest problem was that there is no "universal recipe" for finding them.

The index was based on research carried out by the Economist Intelligence Unit, and used Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) data.